Housekeeping sucks!
So I spent the large majority of my weekend doing housework. Not only did we have to clear the backlog of ironing that had been created by the absence of our housekeeper, but I did a lot of the things she had been neglecting to do.
The kitchen is a daily battle. Even though I have the luxury of a dishwasher, not everything goes in there. I have an old school dishwasher (it’s already about 5 years old) and it doesn’t wash pots. Sometimes I try my luck and put them in there, but they usually don’t come out clean. I also don’t put Babyice’s bottles in the dishwasher since it turns the plastic milky and it makes them look dirty when they are not.
On Saturday morning we woke up and I started working. Over the weekend I did the following:
- Unpacked/repacked the dishwasher 3 times
- Washed dishes (more than once!)
- Stripped all the bedding, washed it and hung it up
- Did more washing and hung it up
- Put new bedding on
- Ironed (!)
- Washed windows
- Washed marks off the walls that have been bothering me forever
- Cleaned the bath
- Packed away ironing that Rudi had done
- Packed Babyice’s drawers straight
- Made a potato salad for a get together
- Cleaned the washing machine
Rudi helped by:
- Vacuuming and mopping the floors
- Removing washing from the line
- Taking out the rubbish 3 times (!)
- Cleaning out the broom cupboard
- Cleaning the bathroom
- Ironing a lot of the back log (but not packing it away…I did that)
I’m really glad he helped. Even with him helping it was a fuckton of work and I am DONE FOR! It doesn’t seem like a lot of work when you write it down, but it WAS. So. Much. Work. Rudi did help quite a bit, especially with the huge pile of ironing on Saturday, but I still did the majority of the work. Unfortunately this housekeeper thing also co-incided with my PMS week. Rudi went to shower on Saturday and left his clothes on the floor. I nearly died. I decided that I was not doing a single thing further until he had picked up his clothes or that I would leave them there until HE picked them up. I am not his mother. It’s one thing having to do the housework, having someone make it a lot more difficult for you is quite another. Another thing he did was throwing empty wrappers down on the kitchen counter, walking past the bin while exiting the kitchen and just leaving them there. WHY? Our house seems to be more constantly tidy (since there is nobody other than ourselves to pick up after us), but I think we need to change our mindset and make less of a mess to begin with! This is much more challenging for Rudi than it is for me. I am always the one cleaning the kitchen, so instead of piling dishes into the sink, I pack them straight into the dishwasher.
Last night I managed to rope Babyice into picking up his toys. He doesn’t respond to ‘Pick up your toys!’, but he will follow a list of commands if you tell him ‘Put the monkey in your toy box, please’ and then ‘Put the car in your toy box, please’. He picked up all his toys by himself last night (while instructed to do so). I’m definitely going to keep that trend up!
I think I’m going to work out a roster for us and split the chores evenly. Hopefully we’ll get into a flow of doing things that will prevent us from spending our weekends doing housework. Otherwise I foresee many a fight over this!
“It doesn’t seem like a lot of work when you write it down…” Ummmmmm what? That sounds like a ginormous amount of work!!!
Vacuuming happens on a tue and thurs. Windows once a month. makes it much more manageable.
Well done!
I think the roster idea is a very good one.
Also, we do certain things on certain days i.e. change linen and towels on a monday. Floors get mopped mon, wed & fri, more if absolutely nessecary. Laundrey, unfortunatly is all the bloody time
(I do have a domestic fairy/nanny so it defiitely helps but if I use a cup, I was it, if I make a mess I tidy it, I help with linen changes and doing the actual clothes wash – I do NOT iron)
P.s. keep it up with baby ice, it will become a habit and you wont have to ask him all the time
We haven’t had help around the house for 4 years now and most of the time I prefer it. DH does most of the washing and all the ironing, I do all of the cooking and most of the dishes. We share the rest of the cleaning. We do a very quick tidy every evening once the kids are in bed and then spend Saturday morning doing the washing and the heavier cleaning.
The best advice I can give you is to drop your standards! Windows do not need to be washed often, laundry can be done once a week, ditto to washing floors and scrubbing the bathroom. Ironing and folding clothes can be done while watching TV.
Good luck!
P.s. what did you mean in your previous post that you pay the domestic worker because she really helps you rather than Rudi?
Hi
I meant if we didn’t have a housekeeper that I would have to do the majority of the housework, so having one takes a lot more pressure off me than it does Rudi since he doesn’t do as much. Hope that makes sense
LOL… it makes sense in a way that makes me wish you’d give him a kick up the butt. There’s no ways we could go without domestic help if DH didnt do his fair share of the chores.
I agree with Tanya. You need to drop your standards. The advice she have given to you is exactly what me and hubby used to do for 10 years without a housekeeper. Once a week for washing, ironing, bathrooms, floors. Cleaning the surfaces in each room (picking up of toys and stuff like that) in the evenings.
You did a lot of homework.
It sucks to do it yourself! I had no holiday whilst my maid was away! My Glugster helps, and the knucklehead will help if he’s asked directly, but it still sucks!